Lecture about Africa-Brazil at Meninos de Luz Theater
On July 11, Elementary School II students gathered at Meninos de Luz Theater to attend the conclusion of Victor Loyola’s 7th year research on the African Chico Rei, part of the Pedagogy of Projects worked at the Solar Integral School.
Victor said that Chico Rei, born in Africa, was king by right of all the Congo. Despite his title, he was captured by Portuguese executioners and marketed as a slave to work at the Encardideira mine.
Chico Rei bought his and his son manumission after five years, since he secretly kept in his hair the powder of the gold that he was collecting. He also bought the mine from the master and freed more than 400 other slaves.
After Victor’s presentation, Babalaô Sérgio Lopes, from Cultural Center AfroRio, lectured on the arrival of African people in Brazil, their cultural mix in the slave ships, the Negro contribution, the preconception and the political reflection from the time of the Empire to this day. It was a great history lesson for our students.
